


Grey Skies

by Yoongi_Bear



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Crying, Everyone Needs A Hug, Grief/Mourning, Hugs, Keith (Voltron) Needs a Hug, Keith seriously needs a hug, Keith's dad is ded, M/M, Post S7, i know i did, idk where Kosmo is, you will cry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 02:54:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15787494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yoongi_Bear/pseuds/Yoongi_Bear
Summary: It's been months since the liberation of Earth, and Keith realizes it's his father's birthday.He arranges for him and Krolia to visit his father's grave, like he used to every year, but this time, his fiancé tags along.





	Grey Skies

**Author's Note:**

> You will cry, FYI. I know I did. Good luck.

Keith neatly pulled his long black hair into a high ponytail, shaking his head slightly. Shiro's snores drifted from their bedroom into the attached master bath, and Keith snorted in amusement. Shiro's snores were legendary, and on a good day Keith could hear them on the other side of their small ranch-style home. On late nights when Shiro turned in before Keith did, he would listen for Shiro's snores to confirm that his lover was asleep while Keith worked on his laptop. Sometimes it would take hours for Keith to hear them, the insomnia a side effect of Shiro's PTSD. Luckily, Shiro was fast asleep at the moment, so Keith could slip out of the house successfully. 

Slowly, the half-breed pushed open the creaky bathroom door and slinked into their tiny bedroom. His phone was buzzing on the bedside table, most likely his mother trying to tell him to hurry up. Keith rolled his amethyst eyes. Of course she'd be impatient, it wasn't like Keith had a light sleeping fiancé that was damn near impossible to not wake up. Crazy woman. 

He inhaled softly, and attempted to make it to the bedside table without bumping Shiro's flesh arm, which was draped over the side of the bed. The man himself was asleep face down on his pillow, spread out starfish style. Another reason Keith wanted a larger bed. Shiro didn't know what personal space was when he was asleep. 

Keith managed to grab his phone off the charger without bumping Shiro, and he let out the breath he was holding. "Thank God," he mumbled, tiptoeing over to the door of the bedroom and opening it. 

And then the door creaked. Really. Loudly. 

"Son of a-!"

"Keith?" Shiro's voice, thick with sleepiness, rang out behind Keith. 

Keith swore, in Galran, English, and Korean. Then he turned to face his sleepy fiancé and smiled sheepishly. "Good morning, Takashi. "

Shiro rubbed his eye, then blinked slowly. "Where are you going? It's Sunday, sleep-in day." 

"Uh-huh, so you should go back to sleep," Keith nodded frantically, and Shiro raised a white eyebrow. Keith's phone buzzed again, and he pulled out the little orange phone. He had ten messages, all from his mother, and she was not happy. She also sucked at typing, so most of the messages were absolute nonsense. 

Shiro narrowed his eyes, and a pang of panic mixed with embarrassment shot through Keith. Crap on a cracker, what if Shiro thought he was cheating? "Seriously, Keith where are you going?" 

Yup, totally thought he was cheating. Keith stared at his feet, the mismatched socks suddenly seeming childish. "I'm... Going somewhere with Mom. Somewhere special." 

"Is that who's texting you? Krolia?" 

Keith nodded again, his hair bouncing. "Yeah. It's... It's my dad's birthday..." He started gnawing on his lip, choking down the wave of impending sadness that ensued every time he thought about his dad. 

Shiro's face fell. "Oh. " He stood, and yawn-walked over to their tall cherry wood dresser and started pulling out clothes. 

"What are you doing?" Keith was now the one raising his eyebrows. 

"I'm coming with you, give me five minutes, " he replied, pulling on a white tee-shirt and tucking the sleeve into the edge of his prosthetic. Keith watched as Shiro dressed, cheeks slightly flushed, and leaned against the door. His phone kept buzzing, like his mother was sending a text every five seconds. Jesus, she had no off button. 

Using sheer "I'm in the military" speed, Shiro was dressed and ready in less than three minutes, tugging on his black bike jacket over his prosthetic arm, and then he adjusted the electroshock watch on his left arm. Already, Shiro's left arm was starting to go, the muscles in his arm clenching painfully if he didn't take his pills or wear the watch. Keith felt helpless when it came to that, but Shiro tried to assure him that he'd be fine. Then Keith would call bull on that and Shiro would roll his gunmetal grey eyes. 

They'd argued about it a lot. 

"Alright, let's go," Keith said, walking out and expecting Shiro to follow him. When they exited the house, Krolia's black Ford Fiesta ST was in the driveway, and once she saw Keith she pushed on the horn and rolled down the window. 

"Jesus, how slow are you?! The beer's getting warm!" 

"Beer?" Shiro asked in confusion, glancing at Keith. 

Keith's face flushed again, and he mumbled, "We leave a six-pack for Dad on his grave on his birthday..." 

"Oh." 

"KEEEEITH COME ON!" Krolia shouted again, honking the horn again. 

"MOM. I NEED TO BACK OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY FIRST." Keith shouted back with the same Kogane fire, flipping his mom the bird. Momma Kogane rolled her eyes and backed her car out of the driveway, while Keith hopped on his hoverbike and pulled on his goggles. Shiro got on behind him, his arms wrapped around Keith's waist, sending a shiver through Keith's entire body. 

"That's gay," Shiro whispered into his ear, and he kicked Shiro with his bike boot. Shiro laughed, and Keith gave up on humanity for a moment. 

Within five minutes they were on their way, the wind not helping Keith's nerves like it usually did. March 23rd was the only day that riding his bike didn't help his nerves or grief at all, if anything, it made it worse. Normally, it soothed his nerves with a burst of adrenaline and dopamine, the wind through his hair like a sip of pure caffeine, the rush of the road a blessing. It was Keith's favorite thing to do, and sometimes Keith would drive for hours into the desert, then set up a small campsite and sleep there. But, March 23rd, his father's birthday, had become a permanent reminder of loss, of his father's idiotic bravery. 

_"Everyone told him not to go back into that house, but he did anyways."_

_Shiro chuckled. "Sounds like someone I know."_

Memories of that conversation rose to Keith's thoughts, and he shook his head to clear it. He would not start crying, absolutely not. Shiro seemed to notice Keith's tense muscles, and he gently squeezed Keith's waist. The tingles started again due to that, but this time Shiro didn't make a sarcastic comment. Thankfully. 

It was only a twenty minute drive to the cemetery, and once they arrived Keith let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. The rows and rows of marble headstones were devoid of living people, and that was a brief comfort to Keith. He doubted anyone wanted hear his awkward snort-crying. They parked on the little road that ran through the cemetery, a soft morning breeze drifting through. It was cloudy, and everything had a bit of a gray haze over it, fitting for Keith's current mood, one he self titled "existence hatred". 

"Hey," Shiro whispered after they dismounted the bike and Krolia got out of her Fiesta. He intertwined his hand with Keith's and squeezed it softly. Keith let out a shaky breath and glanced up at his fiancé, his chest aching with grief. "Are you okay? Do you need a minute?" 

Keith shook his head. "No, I'll be okay. Don't worry about me. " 

"Let's go," Krolia said, appearing next to her son. She'd grown out her violet and pink hair, today's style a tight bun. As Keith looked at his mother, he realized she wasn't as powerful and ageless as he thought. Her eyes were dark and heavy with grief, and she had the beginnings of wrinkles around her mouth and by the outer corners of her eyes. Sometimes Keith had to remind himself that Krolia had feelings too, and that she wasn't made of stone like she acted. Krolia stuffed her hand in her white jacket pockets, the other holding the six pack, and they started on their way to Keith's father. 

The headstone was made of white marble streaked with black, in a bench shape. It read "Kit Andrew Kogane" with a small caption underneath, "your sacrifice is never forgotten". The dates showed March 23, 2021 - July 4, 2054. A photo of Keith's father in his firefighter's uniform was set down next to a rose wreath, most likely from one of his friends. Krolia set down the six pack on the opposite side of the wreath, and then sat down gracefully. Keith did the exact opposite, practically collapsing to his knees. 

Keith's vision blurred, and he made a strange choked noise in the back of his throat. He suddenly couldn't breathe, and Shiro (who was seated on Keith's right) ran his hand up and down Keith's back. "Dad...Sorry I-I haven't come for the past f-few years. I was uh, flying giant lions in- in space. B-but, happy birthday." His chest ached as memories drifted through his head, of his father laughing with friends, Keith's eighth birthday, where his dad gave him the knife, and him picking Keith up from school with a smile and stress-crinkled eyes.

"Kit. I'm so sorry I left so abruptly, and that I wasn't here for our son. I still love you, and I haven't loved anyone else since then. I miss you, darling," Krolia whispered, running her finger along the engravings on the stone. "I love you..." 

Shiro wrapped his arm around Keith's waist, and Keith gladly leaned into his firm embrace. Tears streaked down Keith's face, warm and wet. God, he wished his dad hadn't ran into that fire, that he'd just let someone else do it, as horrible as that sounded. There were some days where all he longed for was his father's tight, warm embrace, and the chamomile honey he would make Keith when he was sad. After his dad died, Keith couldn't drink tea without sobbing. He still couldn't. 

"God I miss you, Dad...I wish you could be at my wedding, I wish you c-could walk me d-down the aisle..." The choked feeling in Keith's throat became too much, and he stopped talking and buried his face in Shiro's shirt. Shiro was silent, but he tightened his grip around his sobbing lover. 

They sat there for a half hour, Keith sobbing and Krolia crying quiet tears. Shiro kept trying to comfort his love, unknowing that his presence was comfort enough for Keith. It started raining about ten minutes later, so they had to leave, but as they walked away, Keith whispered quietly. 

"Happy birthday, Dad."


End file.
